Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Written by Jon Williams

It’s one of
the most-hyped movies of the summer. Finally, after months of excitement and
lead-up, Marvel’s The Guardians of the
Galaxy opens in theaters everywhere on Friday. The powers-that-be behind
the film are so confident in its success, a sequel has already been announced—with
an expected release date of July 28, 2017. And as anyone who has seen the
trailers and TV spots will tell you, it’s for good reason. The movie looks to
be a pure fun, action-packed summer blockbuster.

Of course,
this isn’t Marvel/Disney’s first go-around with bringing a high-powered
superhero ensemble to the big screen. In 2012, The
Avengers took the box office by storm, becoming one of the
highest-grossing films of all time. Of course, that movie dealt with a group of
well-known superheroes; each of the principals (Iron
Man, Captain
America, Thor,
and the
Incredible Hulk) had at least one standalone movie prior to their
big-screen team-up. The Guardians, on the other hand, are relatively unknown
outside of the comics world. So who are they?

The
Guardians are led by Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, played by Chris
Pratt. Quill finds himself in possession of a powerful object that sets him
in the way of the evil Ronan, an alien warlord played by Lee
Pace. In order to protect the galaxy from the chaos planned by Ronan, Quill
teams up with a ragtag group of misfits—the Guardians of the Galaxy.

One of the
most interesting members of the group is Rocket, a wisecracking, genetically
engineered mercenary…raccoon. He provides some comic relief, but is an
essential member of the team as their weapons and tactics expert. He’s voiced
by Bradley
Cooper. Rocket’s sidekick in an anthropomorphic tree named Groot, a
powerful warrior who is nonetheless the most unabashedly good-natured character
on the team. Groot’s voice is provided by Vin
Diesel.

Another
warrior Guardian is Drax the Destroyer. Not a mercenary, Drax joins the team as
a way to seek revenge against Ronan, who was responsible for the death of his
family. This scarred hulk is played by WWE wrestler Dave
Bautista. And rounding out the team is Gamora, played by Zoe
Saldana, familiar to sci-fi fans for her roles in Avatar and the Star Trek
reboots. She plays an assassin trained by Thanos, the shadowy villain
mastermind behind Ronan’s shenanigans.

With a cast
like that, and all the fun the film is sure to bring, it’s no wonder that
Disney feels good enough to already be thinking ahead to the sequel. The
Guardians of the Galaxy are sure to be the talk of the summer from this point
forward. The soundtrack
is available now, and be sure to have plenty of other superhero films on your
shelves for fans who just can’t get enough.

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